Into the unknown

~~Blair~~ 

"I'll be arriving soon. It's a five-hour flight, Hattie. "As I took my seat beside the window on the plane, I informed my sister, whom I spoke to on the phone. "Don't worry; I'll be there for your wedding," I promised her as the pilot announced that the plane was about to take off. "see you," I ended the call. 

I yawned and leaned back in my seat. Then I closed my eyes again, hoping to wake up in our hometown when the plane landed. I had to cancel work and drive to our hometown for my sister's wedding ceremony. 

A place I hadn't visited in years.

It's been years since I left my home; I was only fifteen. I know a lot would have changed, but I can only hope that a few memories I left behind persist.

I fell asleep while thinking about all of this, and when I awoke, it was to a man dragging me out of my slumber. My eyes fluttered awake, my heart racing so rapidly I feared it would burst.

I yawned and felt the plane shake, and because I wasn't wearing my seat belt, I banged my head on the window side quite hard. "Ouch," I moaned, looking around. Everyone was terrified; the man on my side was praying with his Rosary, and the couple across from us held each other's hands.

It perplexed me that they all appeared afraid, even though the turbulence was usual for a plane.

The intercom went on right then. "Ladies and gentlemen, please tighten your seat belts quickly because we are experiencing turbulence. Thank you." The captain informed us.

Abiding by the captain's instructions, I fastened my belt. The man by my side was exacerbating the situation by continuing to pray with the rosary. I didn't mind him praying, but he was making a huge deal out of it.

"Please calm down, Mister, it's just turbulence," I urged the terrified man next to me.

When he didn't respond, I turned away and blocked the hostesses' shouts from my head as they walked around, making sure everyone was wearing their seat belts.

When I peeked out my window after securing my seatbelts, the wind was howling. I knew we were in trouble when smoke began to stream from one of the engines. 

"Oh, my God!" The man yelled.

I inhaled and exhaled before shifting to my left side. "Don't worry," I soothed him.

This time, the man responded with a nod of his head.

The intercom came on again.

"This is your captain speaking! We must make an emergency landing right away!" When he announced that, my heart skipped a beat. I could tell we were descending. I felt sick in the stomach, and tears flowed down my cheeks. I never pictured myself as a passenger on a plane, dying. 

I clutched my clothes and joined the man next to me in prayer. 

"Oh Lord, please save me," I said as I closed my eyes, praying that the heavens would hear my pleadings.

The passengers' yelling abruptly ended, as had the plane's tremendous shaking, and everything had come to a halt. I finished my prayer and opened my eyes. The man holding his rosary beside me had one of his hands raised, but he wasn't saying anything. I assumed he was praying silently until I noticed one of the hostesses in her red skirt and white blouse standing opposite us, motionless.

"What exactly is going on?" I turned around and observed that the passengers were also still. 

Everything felt strange to me, and I had no idea what was happening. A few minutes ago, everyone was panicking, but now, they had all gone silent. "Hello," I said as I pushed the man by my side, but he didn't move. He appeared to be frozen in time. 

"Hello!" I yelled and peered out the window. The plane's booming noise was deafeningly quiet, as if time had stopped. "no way!" I exclaimed, removing the belt from around my waist. If my assumptions were correct and time had stopped, I had to find out. I stood up from my chair and placed my hand on the hostess near my seat, but she, like the others, was motionless.

"Impossible!" I stood in the middle of the seats, hoping to see someone move, but there was no one, and as I pondered what was happening, a bright light appeared from nowhere, approaching me blindly. When I opened my eyes again, a blue portal was in front of me. I got closer to it because it was only five feet away to satisfy my curiosity. "What in the world is this?" I extended my hand toward the portal, and it passed through. I took my hand away and tried again, but I could not remove it, as it got stuck in the doorway. 

"What the hell is going on?" I shouted and attempted everything I could to get my hand off, but I was dragged by something or someone, and before I knew it, I had been pulled into the portal.

The next time the portal opened, it was by the bank of a river, and just as I was pulled into the portal, someone pushed me out again. "What the hell is going on?" I massaged my forehead, trying to make sense of what was happening to me.

"Did I just leap out of the plane and land in a forest?" My voice boomed over the forest as I yelled. "no!" I massaged my eyes. "How can this be happening?" I paced about, biting my nails. "I was on the plane and..."

How do I explain to anyone who will listen that I was on a plane a few minutes ago and was now in the jungle due to a portal?

Is the portal even real?

When I heard leaves rustling, I was jolted out of my thoughts, and I swiftly turned to see what was behind me. I should have been terrified, but instead, I ventured curiously to see what was on the other side of the forest.

I came across three males butt naked, discussing while trying to wear their clothes. I knew I shouldn't have gone behind the tree on instinct.

"The full moon will be visible in two days, and I hope everyone is ready for..." When one of the males noticed me, he stopped talking. He turned, and the rest of the men did as well.

"Goodness!" When I saw their naked bodies, I yelled. They had such powerful bodies that they could be mistaken for Greek gods. "What the hell is going on?"

"Human!" The one in the middle with the bald head smelt the air, his gaze piercing mine. He began walking towards me, and I stepped backward till my back touched the tree. 

"stupid!" I should've realized there was a tree behind me. "Who are you, strangers?"

"How did you, a human, end up here?" The second man inquired as he approached me. "No human has ever broken through the portal and..."

Human? What on earth do they mean by that? Why was I being referred to as a human when we were both humans? I glanced from one man to the next and yelled aloud before blacking out from tiredness and shock.

~~~~

I awoke to the sensation of cold water being poured over my body. "Laila, stop it," I called my roommate's name, thinking she was with me, but when I heard a baritone's voice, I knew I wasn't with her.

"Today is your day of sentence, human!" With a forceful hand, I was yanked off the ground. I gasped visibly as I raised my head to see the man who had seized me. It was the forest's, bald man. I could see a scar above his left brow because I was so close to him. Maybe a war-related flaw? The bald man gave the impression that he was a security guard as he was dressed in a black suit that fits his body perfectly. 

Am I in a strange city? 

"move!" The man shoved me forward, and I nearly fell flat.

"Please, "I implored him. "Please help me," I begged, thinking that when he heard my story, he would be merciful. "I was on a plane when I arrived here. No, I went through a blue portal and..."

"Keep quiet, human!" he said sternly, sending shivers down my spine. I swallowed significantly as the man walked behind me, even though I was shaking fiercely as I took a step forward. I could tell with my eyes that I was in an entirely different place than my town. 

"This has to be a dream!" I declared because there was no reason for me to magically appeared somewhere I didn't know. 

The bald man led me toward a skyscraper with the name 'Royalty' engraved at the center. 

"This human will be moved to the investigation prison!" The bald man handed me over to two other men dressed in black suits. 

The men bowed to the bald man and took my hand in theirs. 

"What in the world are you doing?" As they hauled me away to God's nowhere, I yelled at the bald man.

"I have no business being here! I was flying on a plane when I suddenly appeared here and....."

"Silence!" I smothered a cry as the bald man yelled at me, knowing that my screams would be useless. Because I was in a new land, no one would come to my aid.

The men pushed me till we got to where other people were. They'd crowded around me, pointing fingers at me as I was dragged away. They all moved backward as if they were all aware of me, doing everything they could to avoid me. 

"Murder her!" They all began chanting.

Murder who? I pondered. I didn't even know any of them, so how could they have resulted in killing me even though I didn't know who they were?

"Make way for the king!" someone yelled behind us as black Bmw cars sped towards us. I was pushed from the center of the road to the left side to make room for whoever was driving by. They all fell to their knees and bowed their heads. Even the men holding my hands fell on their knees to pay their respects to the man on the horse.

I stood motionless, staring at the cars as they slowed down. The window of one of the cars was winding down, and I saw him. His face was as dazzling as the sun, and his clothes screamed nobility, even though he was dressed in a brown suit. I stared at him as his head turned towards me and locked eyes with his golden eyes. The moment went slowly, but our gazes were locked on one other. 

"mate!" I heard two male voices yell. I was intrigued by the voices and wondered who they were. I looked around, expecting to see them, but I didn't. "Our mate is stunning!" I looked around as I heard the voices again.

Am I going insane? No one was speaking, which meant I was only thinking about what had transpired in the previous few hours. It must have messed with my thoughts. 

"Bow to the Lycan King!" The bald man yelled at me.

The Lycan king! Even though I had no idea what Lycan met, I understood what the word king meant. 

He was the only one who could save me from execution and possibly return me to my home. 

I ran towards the king's car without thinking, even though I could be crushed by it. I shouted for rescue as I threw my arms wide in front of his car. "Please," I pleaded. "help me. "